“Eastern partnership” after the Ukrainian crisis: The value of stability or stable values?

Abstract

In 2019, the Eastern Partnership program celebrated its 10th anniversary. The correlation of the initial ambitions, the results achieved to date, and their perception determine the key trends of the EaP and the Eastern policy in general for the short and medium term perspective. Based on the analysis of changes in the European Union‟s goal-setting with regard to the Eastern Partnership countries, the article assesses the prospects for the consolidation of the eastern direction of EU foreign policy. The growing dissatisfaction with the results on the part of the partner states and the growing competitiveness of the external environment create new structural conditions for the EU to develop and implement its common foreign policy. Exacerbated after the Ukrainian crisis, the dilemma between the promotion of European values and pragmatic interests, mainly in the search for internal political stability of the partner states, actualizes discussions about the type of EU international actorness. The European Union, trying to balance the role of values and the desire to reduce the security challenges emanating from the neighborhood, is in a difficult position. An increase in the priority of stability in the regional space as a result of direct opposition of European values to Russian policy does not contribute to the consolidation of the EU's Eastern policy, but makes it even more dependent on external variables.